Blessed Unity of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska, unified in Saint Sava's Spirit
Serbian Patriarch Irinej: “These children are our future! They are following the path of Saint Sava! Dear spiritual children: Love and respect Serbdom – love and respect Orthodoxy!”
The magnificent solemn academy, as the central cultural event marking the celebration of eight centuries of autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was held in the packed hall of the Sava Center on 8 October 2019. This extraordinary ceremony was sponsored by the President of the Republic of Serbia.
The spiritual and cultural spectacle entitled Saint Sava’s Testament began with the Lord’s Prayer My Father composed by Josif Marinkovic and performed by eighty singers of the choir of the Radio Television of Serbia, conducted by maestro Bojan Sudjic.
Standing all as one in the prayer, in the magnificent hour for our Church, for the Serbian race, fir two Serbian states – Serbia and Srpska, more than five thousands souls assembled under the arches of the great hall of Sava Center unanimously sang the Serbian hymn God of Justice, composed by Davorin Jenko, accompanied by the monumental sound of the representative orchestra of the Guards of the Serbian Armed Forces, which was conducted by Aleksandar Djurov.
Along with His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej, President of the Republic of Serbia Mr. Aleksandar Vucic and Mr. Milorad Dodik, Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the solemn academy was also attended by His Beatitude kyr Jovan, Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje, Metropolitans Porfirije of Zagreb-Ljubljana and Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia and Their Graces Bishops Lavrentije of Sabac, Vasilije of Srem, Longin of New Gracanica and Midwestern America, Mitrophan of Canada, Irinej of Backa, Dositej of Britain-Scandivia, Pahomije of Vranje, Jovan of Sumadija, Ignjatije of Branicevo, Milutin of Valjevo, Sergije of Bihac-Petrovac, Arsenije of Nis, Siluan of Australia and New Zealand, Andrej of Austria-Switzerland, Heruvim of Osijek-Polje and Baranja; Kiril of Buenos Aires and South and Central America, Nikodim of Dalmatia, Joakim of Polog-Kumanovo, Stefan of Remesiana, Isihije of Mohacs, Metodije of Dioclea, as well as President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Mrs. Maja Gojkovic, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska Mr. Nedeljko Cubrilovic, Serbian Prime Minister Mrs. Ana Brnabic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Mr. Radovan Viskovic, Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Milan Mojsilovic, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic with Princess Kathrine, First Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ivica Dacic, Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Mrs. Zorana Mihajlovic, many ministers of governments of Serbia and Srpska, political representatives of the Serbian people in Croatia and Montenegro: Professor Milorad Pupovac Ph.D, Mr. Boris Milosevic, Mr. Andrija Mandic and Mr. Milan Knezevic, members of the diplomatic corps, many eminent people from public and cultural life of Serbia, Republic of Srpska, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Then, with the blessing of His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, Bishop Arsenije of Nis read the Epistle of the Holy Assembly of Bishops addressed to all hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, clergy, monks and to all sons and daughters on the occasion of 800th anniversary of the autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Order of Saint Sava of the First Degree Awarded to Serbian Patriarch and President of the Republic of Serbia
At the suggestion of His Eminence Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church made the decision to award the Order of Saint Sava of the first degree to His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch. The decision of the Holy Synod was read by Bishop Stefan of Remesiana, Vicar of the Serbian Patriarch.
The decoration was presented to the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Hrizostom, who emphasized that the Order was awarded for "many years of committed patriarchal ministry and wisdom and responsibility shown on the throne of primates of the Serbian Orthodox Church".
The State and the Church are together again
The highest Church Order to the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic was presented by His Holiness the Patriarch of Serbia Irinej who said the historical words: "Thank God, we have experienced and welcomed that in this time, as in the time of the Nemanjic family rulе, the Serbian State and the Serbian Church work together.”
Vucic said that the Order obliged him to fight for Kosovo and Metohija and to support our people west of the Drina and the Danube rivers, in Montenegro and wherever they live. "After all, I … hope that Serbdom and Serbs will become one and that the truth will defeat lies," said the President of Serbia at the festive academy in Belgrade.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, was awarded with the Order of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Gusher. Mr. Dodik pointed out that it was "the Order for the Serbian people in the Republic of Srpska". Thanking for such a high award, he added that the Order showed their love and affection for the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Saint Sava’s Testament
An art part of program followed, which consisted of musical and drama multimedia story – Sаint Sava’s Testament – in three acts, by the idea and script of Mr. Dusan Stokanovic and Mr. Sava J. Miric, also executive producer of the academy, and Mr. Aleksandar Radojkovic.
Through an account of the historical circumstances that preceded the obtaining of autocephaly, the three acts depict the decision of the Hilandar monk Sava to go to Nicaea, to the exiled Byzantine emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople; then the very act of granting independence in front of the Church of the Divine Wisdom in Nicaea; and in the third part an artistic vision of the famous Zica Assembly and the sending of newly ordained bishops to their respective dioceses throughout Serbian territories.
Specially for this ceremony, Serbian art music star Aleksandar Sedlar composed three compositions: Domentian, Nicaea and Zicha, performed by Beogradska Simfonijeta.
And in the end the most beautiful: the final part of the Academy was marked by the steps of eight hundred little Serbs from all over Serbia, who entered the stage of the Sava Center in the rhythm of the Speaking Fugue (of) Serbia, composed by the giant of Serbian classical and spiritual music late Aleksandar Vujic, which was performed by the Radio Television of Serbia headed by the inspired maestro Bojan Sudjic. And during this magnificent modern composition, the children, after they received the blessing, took their Holy Patriarch to the stage so that the magnificent choir of more than one thousand two hundred participants and five thousand spectators sang the hymn to their first Archbishop - Saint Sava.
